AWARD WINNING CASE - STRATEGY AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT CATEGORY - THE CASE CENTRE AWARDS AND COMPETITIONS 2019. In a 2014 documentary, the multinational technology company Apple Inc. was implicated in alleged human rights violations at Pegatron, a large Chinese supplier that assembled Apple's iPhones. The allegations followed similar, well-publicized violations in 2009 at another China-based Apple supplier. Although Apple had promised to improve its practices, doing so had clearly proven to be a difficult task. How should Apple respond to these new allegations? Should it evade the accusations and instead point to its existing efforts? Could it do more to protect workers? Should it rethink its offshoring and outsourcing strategy? Is it fair to blame Apple for the activities of its suppliers? Where does the blame fall?

Learning Objective:

The case is ideal for undergraduate, graduate, and executive courses. It is particularly well suited to ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) courses and is also suitable for courses in strategic management, international business, and operations management. After completion of the case, students will be able to understand:

The trade-off between being profitable and doing well for society at large.